Presence Over Profit: Building a Business Around Motherhood

My husband Justin asked me something recently that stopped me cold: If I knew I could make $2 million this year but it would require 60 hours a week and traveling 30% of the year, would I do it?

Hell no.

Maybe I would have said yes when my kids were tiny. Back then, I craved a moment of rest and the validation that comes with big revenue numbers. But now, with teenagers who actually want to have breakfast with me? There’s no amount of money worth missing these years.

This isn’t about being anti-ambition or playing small. It’s about recognizing that building a coaching business as a mom requires honest conversations about trade-offs. The conversations we’re not having enough of in this industry.

The Radio Knob Framework That Changed Everything

When I was doing life coaching, I used this metaphor that stuck with me. Imagine your life is an old-school boom box with multiple knobs. You’ve got the business knob, the motherhood knob, the wife knob, the health knob, the daughter knob. Every role you play gets a knob.

If you crank all those knobs to 100% at the same time, the speaker literally blows up. The whole system crashes.

Having both business and motherhood means knowing when to turn knobs up and when to turn them down. This changes daily, and it changes seasonally.

Here’s what my typical day looks like with this framework:

When I wake up, my parenting knob is off because my kids are sleeping. My self-care knob is up during my morning Bible and devotional time. My wife knob is turned up during coffee with Justin, where we make intentional connection time.

Then I turn those knobs down, and my business knob goes up. This is when I’m in my office, focused and productive.

After school, my motherhood knob cranks back up. I’m present for homework help, watching football highlights with Miller, or just being available for whatever they need.

The key insight: You’re not failing because you can’t sustain 100% intensity everywhere. You’re actually designed to adjust based on what the moment requires.

My Non-Negotiables as a Mom Business Owner

I’ve gotten really clear on what I won’t compromise. These boundaries didn’t happen overnight, but they’re the foundation that makes everything else work.

Daily non-negotiables:

• Breakfast with my teenagers every single morning
• No work during school drop-off or pick-up times
• Available for homework help and after-school activities
• Friday lunch dates with Justin
• Weekly coffee with a girlfriend
• Phone stays away during family time
• Zero work on evenings or weekends unless absolutely critical

Seasonal non-negotiables:

• No launches in June, July, or August
• Christmas to New Year is completely closed
• Planning my business calendar around family vacations first
• Block off time for tournaments, school breaks, and major events

Does this mean I work less? Actually, no. It means I work smarter.

During summer months, I’m often up at 5 a.m. getting three to four hours of focused work done before my kids wake up. I’m hyper-efficient because I’ve limited my available time. The constraints force me to optimize.

The Client Conversation That Inspired This Episode

One of my Best Damn Coach clients was stuck comparing her current coaching business to her previous corporate role where she made really good money. She kept measuring success by the dollar amount and timeline.

But here’s the thing: One of the biggest reasons she left corporate was because she didn’t have the life she wanted. She wasn’t present with her kids the way she wanted to be. She felt pulled in every direction.

I asked her to do homework: Define what success looks like for your entire life at the end of this year. Not just revenue. Everything.

If success is only measured by income, she might tell herself she’s failing. But if success includes quality of life, being present with your children, not dreading Mondays, having energy at the end of the day, setting your own schedule, and having coffee with girlfriends mid-week? She’s absolutely winning.

The corporate world validates success primarily through money. It’s easy to bring that measuring stick into entrepreneurship. But you get to define success differently.

What Success Actually Looks Like When You Define It

I had another client, Allison, who started with a simple goal: cover her daughters’ private preschool tuition. That was $1,500-$2,000 per month.

She hit that goal within three to four months. She couldn’t believe it was possible.

That goal afforded them the exact quality of life they wanted for their family. That’s success.

Not everybody wants to make $100K months. Not everybody is willing to do what it takes or make those sacrifices. Both options are completely valid.

Success for me right now includes:

• Being at every breakfast with my teenagers
• Friday lunch dates with my husband
• Homeschooling Miller when needed (and I’d do it again in a heartbeat)
• Having my summers primarily clear of obligations
• Getting to watch my kids grow up in real time

Could I make more money if I worked differently? Absolutely. But I would be missing moments I can never get back.

The Permission Slip You’re Looking For

You’re allowed to make less money if it means more presence for your family. You’re allowed to work part-time and be proud of it. You’re allowed to turn down opportunities that don’t fit your current season.

You’re allowed to build slowly. You’re allowed to prioritize family over revenue goals. You’re allowed to define success differently than everyone else. You’re allowed to change what success looks like as your kids grow.

The opposite is also true. You’re allowed to want to build a big business that makes millions. You’re allowed to work more if that’s your genuine choice. You’re allowed to hire help so you can focus on business. You’re allowed to travel for work. You’re allowed to have massive ambition.

The key distinction: Make it your choice, not a default. Not because you feel like you should, but because it aligns with your priorities in this season of life.

How to Fit Your Coaching Business Within Your Life

Most entrepreneurs build their lives around their business. I’m suggesting you do the opposite: build your coaching business within the confines of the life you actually want to live.

• Start with your calendar. Block off vacations, big tournaments, school breaks, and times when you want downtime. Do this first, before you plan any launches or programs.
• Get clear on your boundaries. What are your absolute non-negotiables? For me, it’s breakfast with my kids and no work on weekends. For you, it might be different. Write them down and protect them fiercely.
• Define your version of success. What does winning look like for your entire life, not just your bank account? Get specific. Write it out.
• Build your business strategy around those priorities. This is where the magic happens. When you’re crystal clear on your boundaries and priorities, the “how” falls into place faster because you know exactly what to say yes to and what to say no to.

I don’t believe this approach means you make less money. Actually, I think the opposite is true. The clearer you are about your boundaries, the more laser-focused you become on what actually moves the needle in your business.

The Guilt You’ll Feel (And How to Handle It)

I’m not going to lie and say you won’t feel guilty sometimes. That would be dishonest.

There are definitely moments where the guilt shows up. Times when I wonder if I should be working more or doing more in my business.

But here’s what I’ve realized: The guilt only shows up when I’m living in the belief that I have to be “on” in both worlds all the time. When I remember that I’m making intentional choices aligned with my values, the guilt dissolves.

Ask yourself this: Which guilt do you want to live with more often?

For me, I never want to look back and say “I could have made more money.” That regret doesn’t scare me. What scares me is looking back and realizing I missed out on precious moments with my kids. That’s devastating.

But that’s my story. It doesn’t have to be your story. You get to choose which trade-offs you’re willing to make.

The Homework: Your Knob Audit

Here’s what I want you to do this week:

• Map out your radio knobs. What are all the roles you’re playing right now? Write them down. Business owner, mom, wife/partner, friend, daughter, health, etc.
• Identify which knobs are currently at 100%. Be honest. Where are you trying to give maximum effort all the time?
• Notice what’s breaking. When you try to keep everything at 100%, what suffers? Your health? Your sleep? Your presence? Your relationships?
• Choose your season’s priority. What needs to be turned up right now? What can be turned down for this season?
• Set your non-negotiables. What boundaries do you need to protect your priorities?

The Truth About Presence and Profit

I’m choosing presence over maximum profit. That’s my decision based on where I am with teenagers who still want me around.

Your decision might be different. Maybe you’re in a season where pushing hard in business makes sense. Maybe your kids are in college and you have different priorities. Maybe you’re building something that requires intense focus right now.

All of that is valid.

The only thing that’s not valid is operating on default settings. Letting your business consume your life because you haven’t made intentional choices about what you actually want.

Your kids won’t remember how much money you made. They’ll remember if you were there. But you also get to be ambitious and build something meaningful. These aren’t mutually exclusive, but they do require conscious trade-offs.

Resources:

• “How To Get Clients” Limited Series
• 10 Powerful Questions Every Coach Should Know
• Connect with me on Instagram: @awalkmyway